The National Pastime in the City of the Hills

The National Pastime in the City of the Hills

            The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Upstate New York and is widely recognized as the birthplace of baseball. Every summer the best players come to this quaint little town in order to witness the yearly Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. While a majority of the stories of upstate baseball belong to this town, the city of Oneonta, just a half an hour from Cooperstown, has a rich tradition of its own.

Oneonta Red Sox: 1966       

While baseball has existed in Oneonta before the inception of the Oneonta Red Sox in 1966, that is when people were starting to recognize the “City of the Hills” as a place that can support a professional baseball team, albeit being a minor league team. This Red Sox Class A affiliate only lasted one year, finishing with a record of 66-59 in the New York-Pennsylvania League, not enough to make the playoffs.

The Red Sox had a few notable players on this team that went on to have some major league success. Ken Brett, the fourth overall pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 1966 MLB Draft, struggled in his lone season in Oneonta. He compiled a record of 1-4 and a 5.81 ERA, but went on to have a fruitful career in Major League Baseball. In a 14-year career, Brett finished with an 83-85 record and a 3.93 ERA with the Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Kansas City Royals.

 Another player who went on to pay in the MLB after playing with the in Oneonta in 1966 was Amos Otis. Otis batted .270, along with three home runs and 46 RBIs. He also went on to have success in the majors, batting a career .277, with 193 homers and 1007 RBIs. In his 17 seasons in professional baseball with the New York Mets, Red Sox and Royals, Otis played in five All-Star games and won one Gold Glove Award. But after just one season in Oneonta, the Red Sox moved, but creating a vacant spot that would be taken by the Oneonta Yankees, just one year later.

Oneonta Yankees: 1967-1998

It should be noted that there is some kind of irony as the Yankees replaced the Red Sox as the team representing Oneonta. Throughout Boston’s and New York’s storied history there have been plenty of events on the major league level that have defined baseball’s most well-known rivalry. From Boston selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 for $100,000, leading to the “Curse of the Bambino,” to the Red Sox epic comeback in the 2004 American League Championship Series while trailing the series 3-0, these have been two teams that did not like each other. Who would have thought the rivalry would go down to the Single A level as well?

For 31 years the Yankees called Damaschke Field home with varying degrees of success. They had 10 seasons (1978-81, 85-86, 88, 90, 97-98) in which they made the playoffs. In addition, they had ten seasons in which they had over 50,000 fans come to the ballpark.

Through their existence many players and managers have played for the Oneonta Yankees en their route to the MLB. Some of these notable names are Don Mattingly (first base), Bernie Williams (center field), Jorge Posada (catcher) and Andy Pettitte (starting pitcher) all went on to have great careers for the “Bronx Bombers.” Posada, Pettitte and Williams won multiple World Series Championships for in New York, and Mattingly had his number 23 retired at Yankee Stadium, while remaining a fan favorite.

In 1979, Mattingly’s lone year in Oneonta, he batted .349, with three home runs and 31 RBIs, in 53 games. During Williams’ short 1987 stint in “Oney,” he had a .344 batting average and 15 RBIs.   In 1991, Posada struggled during his time in Single A, compiling and average of .235, while belting five balls out of the park.  Also in 1991, Pettitte went a respectable 2-2, with a 2.18 ERA in six starts. The four ball players spent some of their young career in the small city of Oneonta before making their way into primetime, playing in front of 50,000 fans a night.

Alex Hoysradt is a senior at SUNY Onoenta and is an avid baseball fan, but was unaware of the rich tradition that baseball had in his temporary home city. He has never visited Damaschke Field in his four years as a student.

“I did not know that (so many famous names played for the Oneonta Yankees) and never realized it. It’s pretty cool that big names like theirs actually played ball in Oneonta,” said Hoysradt.  The trio of Williams (51), Pettitte (46) and Posada (20) will also have their numbers retired and given a plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium this year.

But in a strange turn of events, the most famous Oneonta Yankee alumni did not even stay in the game of baseball. John Elway played for the Yankees in 1982, while batting .345 in 45 games. But he chose to play professional football instead, having a Hall of Fame career as the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, winning two Super Bowls in the process.

After playing 31 years in Upstate New York, the Oneonta Yankees moved to Staten Island where they still play today. But one year later there would be another team calling Oneonta home.

Oneonta Tigers: 1999-2009

After the era of the Red Sox and Yankees in Oneonta, the city then got a chance to watch the Oneonta Tigers, the affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. In their 10-year existence the Tigers made the playoffs four times (2002-03, 05, 07), before they moved the franchise to Connecticut for the 2010 season. Even though there is currently no MLB affiliated team calling Oneonta its home, Hoysradt believes that one can succeed in this city.

“While I am not a believer in giving many places second or third chances with sports teams (Los Angeles and the National Football League), I do believe Oneonta could support a minor league team. There is really no other team in the immediate area and the team could draw people from nearby towns and of course us students,” said Hoysradt.

Hoysradt went on to say that if there was still a minor league team here, then he would go and watch the games. “It would be really fun to go down there and watch potential major league stars. Who knows we could see the next big thing before he becomes a star?”

Oneonta Outlaws: 2011-????

After the Tigers left for Connecticut, residence of Damaschke Field was taken up by the Oneonta Outlaws, a team made up of college players playing summer baseball. They originally played in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) in 2011, before moving to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2012, before returning back to the NYCBL, where they currently reside. Throughout the Outlaws’ existence they have won three NYCBL championships in 2006, 2011 and 2013.

According to the NYCBL’s official website, their league is “a summer wood bat development league for professional baseball.  Major League Baseball funds a small portion of the league’s annual budget. The league gives college players who have not yet signed a professional contract the opportunity to develop their skills at a higher level of play, gain experience with wood bats, and be evaluated by scouts.”

It is a 46 game season from June to July and the playoffs take place in August.

In the 13 team league the Outlaws finished the 2014 season with a record of 27-19, good enough for second place in the Eastern Division, only finishing behind the Geneva Red Wings.

The prices that a fan needs to pay in order to get entry in to the park are very reasonable. For general admission for an adult it costs $4.00 per game and $2.00 for ages 13-18. And for any child 12 or under, a ticket costs just $1.00. For a reserved box seat it will cost $5.00 per person. A family season pass costs $100.00 dollars for up to six people, $50.00 for an adult season pass and $25.00 for ages 13-18 and senior citizens.

Damaschke Field:

After first opening its doors in 1939, Damaschke Field has been a staple of Oneonta. While they have been home to all of the Oneonta minor league affiliates since its inception, it has recently under gone a renovation to help bring it to the modern age. In 2007, the bleachers were replaced, putting backs on them so the viewer can lean back, along with a new grandstand in order to give a more optimal experience. The parking lot was also moved closer to the field to create a quicker and more pleasant walk for the fans. With an official seating capacity of 3,700, this stadium provides a pleasant baseball experience for the baseball fans of Oneonta and people who just want to go out and enjoy a nice day.